Cooking From the Pantry

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Cooking From the Pantry

Italian Spicy Meat Balls with Multigrain Angel Hair Pasta

Cooking from the pantry. You know a well stocked pantry is a home chef's best asset. My Italian Spicy Meat Balls is a quick night dinner and starts with available ingredients from your pantry. So let us go into the kitchen, pull out those pantry items, and get cooking. Now the purpose of this recipe is for you to get creative and use what you have in the pantry to make the sauce.

Pantry Ingredients

Bell Peppers, Can Tomatoes (diced), Tomato Paste, fresh Garlic, fresh Parsley,

Multigrain Angel Hair Pasta and Spicy Hot Italian Sausage.

Main Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 (package Sausage links) casing remove to make meat balls.
1/2 each of Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Peppers (diced)
1/2 cup Diced Onions
5 Cloves Garlic (diced)
1 cup Baby Portabella Mushrooms (chopped)
14.5 ounce can Basil, Garlic, and Oregano Diced Tomatoes
6 ounce can Tomato Paste (no salt added)
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley chopped (divided)
8 ounces Multigrain Angel Hair Pasta

Preparation

To make the meat balls, take one link sausage and twist, then squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing and mold 1" meat balls with your hands. Each link should yield about 5 - 6 meat balls. Repeat until all links are completed. Place on a plate or bowl until ready to cook.

Making the Sauce

In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, then place meat balls in skillet. Sear on all sides, this should take about 2 - 3 minutes.

Then add bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, and half of fresh parsley. Stir and let simmer for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are nice and tender.

While meat balls are cooking, prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

Returning to the sauce, add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and the balance of parsley to meat balls. Cover and let simmer for about for about 3 - 5 minutes.

To serve, place meat balls in a serving dish and garnish with fresh scallions, or any fresh herbs you may have available in your pantry. Do the same for your pasta, place in serving dish and ring the dinner bell.